Share this:

Like this:

What is a town? Typically, people think of a town as being a physical conglomeration of people and buildings. This is the accepted definition of a town. There are a lot of things that are seen in this fashion; another example is the Church. Some people view the church as a group of people, others view it as a building, still others view it as a universal body of true believers in Christ.
The Bible teaches both a universal church into which every true believe is baptized into by the Holy Spirit, and a local church which is any localized group of true believers who meet and fellowship regularly together. The view that the church is only a building is something that any Believer should recognize as fallacious.
Drawing from the analogy of how the church is viewed by Christians, I view a town as a localized group of people who live together.

This leads me to my second question: what is a home? It really is not that difficult to answer after reading what I said above. A home is a localized group of individuals (generally related) who live together, support each other, and love each other. “Home is where the heart is.”
A home is even more than this, though. Generally speaking, when people refer to home, they are referring to a single place where they go to. A home is usually a single place. A home is where you can rest and feel safe. Many Europeans view the home as almost sacred, a place where only those they absolutely trust may go. A home is safe.
A family may be thought of as the people who live in a home. A home may be the place that we refer to. In a way, home is where we feel safe, secure, comfortable, and is the place we only share with those we love, trust, and feel comfortable around. My home is that place.
Some people don’t have a place to call home. Others move around so much that they have many places they call home. For Christians, we look forward to our eternal home with Christ, realizing any home we have now is uncertain.

Home is where you make it, so make it where you are. Be content with where you are. If you are given the opportunity to go somewhere else, then take the opportunity. In Christ, we are able to live securely wherever we are. In Christ is our hope and home.

Share this:

Like this:

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8,13 (NKJV)

I recently did a study of this passage which examined all these characteristics of godly, true, Christian love. It was a study that was well worth my time! But now, as I look back and think back on the study, I realize that my study missed something.

As I expounded on this passage and studied it, I failed to see is two, very important, sides: description and prescription. Scripture is not just a lens that we use to evaluate and see the world through, it is also a manual that tells us how to interact and live in this world. You see, I failed to apply this passage in my own life, and, instead, used it as only a way of recognizing and describing love.

With all Scripture, it is important to learn the lessons from it and see how they are to apply to our own lives. Three major steps to studying the Bible are: 1) Observe what is written, 2) Interpret in light of all Scripture, and 3) Apply to your own life. For so man Christians, we only go so far as step one or two, but rarely implement step three into our studies.

I challenge any Christian to change their personal Bible study methods to include all three steps outlined above. If you don’t have a regular Bible study regimen, make one. Don’t think about how much time it would take out of other things in life, because your spiritual life is what should be a top priority in your life. Do it. Actively live for Christ and not for yourself. Look for ways to honor God with your life TODAY, not tomorrow or down the road. Today could be your last; make the most of it.

Share this:

Like this:

Happy Mother’s Day to the many wonderful mothers out there. I’m sorry, but life calls and so I haven’t been updating the blog much. I’ll try to get some things up here soon.
Been busy with work and other work. Yesterday I was burning a hay field with our pastor and a few other members from our church when our pastor suddenly keeled over. Breathing in smoke, exhausting work, extreme heat, possible dehydration, and pushing himself a little too hard may have all contributed to the heart attack. We gave him CPR for about 8 minutes before the paramedics showed up. They took him to Anchorage once they got him stable via helicopter. Please pray for my pastor (Jeffery Offord) and his family.

UPDATE (9/1/2014): The pastor has made a miraculously quick and complete recovery. He is back in the pulpit once again, praising God all the more for His grace, power, and protection. Even though the heart attack was not a good thing, good things came as a result of it. God always uses the difficulties in life to shape us and use us in ways we could never imagine.

As I read and prepared for my Sunday school class last night, I was brought to Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” For a believing, practicing Christian, death is something we should not fear because of the promise of Christ that we shall live with Him and sit with Him on high. This life is short, and we should spend it for Christ. Live this life for Christ and the message of faith.